The Toyota Prius has never been our cup of Earl Grey. In its third generation the Prius still makes too many sacrifices in the quest for ultimate fuel efficiency. Enter the Prius v. It’s larger in every important dimension, and thanks to Toyota keeping the weight gain in check, still manages an EPA rated 42mpg combined rating. It just might be a Prius we can get on board with.
A Hybrid After Our Own Hearts
We’ve been putting our share of hybrids to the test over the past year. We’ve sampled Toyota’s offerings in the form of the popular Prius and their luxury brand’s Lexus CT 200h. We’ve sampled the family wagon Prius v as well as Chevrolet’s extended range plug-in electric car, the Volt. While each of these vehicles delivers varying levels of reduced consumption of gasoline, not one of them truly puts the electric motor to use for the full benefit of the driving enthusiast. When hybrids first happened on the scene, the enthusiast community couldn’t help but notice that the electric motors that assist (or in the Volt’s case, exclusively provide) propulsion had mountains of instantly available torque. We enthusiasts have had to settle for varying degrees of improved fuel economy with barely any fun thrown in. Finally, an automaker has stepped up to the challenge to use hybrid technology to actually make a sport sedan more sporting. Enter the Infiniti M35h. Read more…
This week we get a ride in the Lexus CT 200h Hybrid. That’s a bit of a mouthful, but not as bad as the HS 250h Hybrid, which thankfully departs the Lexus lineup this year. The CT is actually a size smaller than the HS, or even the Prius, from which this little hatch steals its powertrain. Unfortunately, for as nimble as they’ve made the CT the hybrid/CVT pairing lets it fall flat on its face when the go pedal is depressed. A good number of hybrid fans out there won’t care, but this little Lexus is aimed square at the premium hatch segment of the market with its spry handling. A performance enhancing hybrid system would be better suited to this car’s willing chassis. And before we get a bunch of, “you don’t know what you are talking about this is a Toyota hybrid and it is suppose to be like this” comments we suggest you actually take this little bugger out for a jaunt on a twisty piece of tarmac with the drive selector spun to “Sport”. You’ll agree, the only thing missing is horsepower.
Toyota took great pains to remind us that it was the pioneer in the industry and proved its commitment to that segment by unveiling the production version of the Prius c. Toyota claims the ‘c’ stands for ‘city.’ The intent of the Prius c is to offer the most efficient and lowest priced member of the Prius family. With a starting price of under $19,000 the Prius c is actually less expensive than the original Prius that debuted more than 10 years ago. The ‘c’ promises an impressive 53 mpg in city driving and 46 mpg on the highway. We found this to be an attractive addition to the Prius lineup and hope that it may have more enticing driving dynamics than the sterile standard Prius. Unfortunately, acceleration doesn’t sound promising with the 1.5L four combining with the electric motor for a total of 99 hp. We were not so impressed with our first look at the interior plastics, but we should withold final judgment until we are able to drive one of these cars. Read more…
Volkswagen used its press conference to tout its first Jetta Hybrid and found a fun way to package an electric car within its latest Beetle with the two-seat E-Bugster Concept. The concept would have a 100 mile range thanks to a nearly 700 pound lithium-ion battery and a 114 horsepower electric motor. Read more…
Love At First Charge
It’s not often that we anticipate testing a vehicle as much as we did with Chevrolet’s Volt. That’s because it’s not often that a vehicle comes along packing a powertrain as revolutionary as GM’s Voltec system. And it was because of this advanced propulsion system and its lightning paced development that we were preparing ourselves to overlook a few rough spots in the days before the vehicle’s delivery. We figured that if mighty Toyota still hadn’t sanded off all the sharp edges on its hybrid powertrain after three generations of Prius development the Volt and its more advanced, but still first gen, technology could be a bit of a half-baked science experiment in the real-world hands of our editors. The truth, it turns out, is that GM has managed to surprise our jaded staff with the level of refinement we enjoyed in our production-spec Volt. It’s so astonishing that it’s difficult to put into words, but we’re confident that after digesting both our written and video reviews you’ll understand our level of admiration for what the General’s best and brightest have accomplished with the world’s first extended-range electric vehicle. Read more…
A Means of Transportation
When the first generation Prius came along I kind of wrinkled my nose at it and said, well, that is all well and good, a clever science experiment, but it will never take on. Then the second generation Prius came along and my sentiments really hadn’t changed all that much, that’s all well and good, impressive science experiment, but it will never take on. But I ended up eating my words on that one. Toyota has sold over 2 million of the smug little things worldwide and is on to a third generation Prius, the one we are driving today. And I still don’t get it. Read more…
It is a bitter cold spring day in Michigan, perfect I guess for taking a 2011 Toyota Prius out for a spin. While I’m fascinated by what the Prius is capable of I question the cost in terms of driving appeal. Click above to have a look. Read more…
Ford is stretching its C-Platform for all it’s worth by introducing a new derivative to the extended Focus family called C-Max. Europe has enjoyed the people moving capabilities of the various C-Max offerings for years, but Americans would never have warmed to the small people mover when gas was only a couple bucks a gallon. Ford thinks the time is right to make a move and will do its best to convince us of the C-Max’s benefits later this year when the 7-passenger mini-minivan hits US showrooms. Read more…
Finally, A Hybrid That Handles
Like John Cleese in a Monty Python production, when it comes to the Lexus CT200h we feel like announcing “and now for something completely different”. That’s because this new entry-level Lexus offers the same hybrid benefits that we’ve seen in one form or another for the past decade, but doesn’t sacrifice driving pleasure on the altar of ultimate frugality. And no, we’re not counting the poor-excuse-for-a-hybrid Honda CR-Z and its piddling mid-30s fuel economy rating. Yes, we too were skeptical when phrases like “fun to drive hybrid” and “a hybrid with attitude” were being dropped by sales executives at the vehicle’s press introduction. But after a day spent driving around Palm Beach, Florida, we found ourselves uttering similar summaries of Lexus’s fifth hybrid. And we didn’t see that coming. Read more…
